Who are you anyways?

I am a TOTAL fan of Social Media. Huge fan. Big honking fan actually and there is a distinct possibility that I have a small addiction. Just a slight one though as I could quit it anytime I wanted. 🙂 But anyways …..

I’ve made some amazing connections and “met” some really cool people. Many of them are exactly who they claim to be. They are people with real concerns and really great ideas. They are funny. They are caring and they are a supportive ear. I like those kind of people. A lot.

And then there are the other ones. People that claim to be one thing, but in reality are absolutely nothing like that. Nothing. They jump up to reprimand and correct people and how they’re doing things, while they do the exact same things at home. They sometimes act sweet and innocent, and then you later learn that they’ve been kicked out of every playgroup in the city. Or you’ve been having a nice conversation with them on Twitter and then you log into Facebook and meet their alter ego, Crazy Face. It’s all so very interesting and more than a little bit frustrating.

I know how quickly things can get carried away when you’re not face to face with someone. It’s so easy to get caught up in the anonymity that the internet gives us and just speak without thinking. Our walls all come down and we find a voice that we didn’t even know we had. Unfortunately, common sense quite often gets lost behind that voice and nuttiness seems to come flying out of our mouths. There’s also that whole “feelings get lost in the translation” thing that doesn’t always help our stories out. And no matter how many smiley face emoticons we add to try and make our point, our true intention doesn’t always come across.

This isn’t just a Social Media phenomenon, we see it all over the place. People calling themselves one thing and then “living” something completely different. People that are put into a “role” in their lives either in their workplace or their community. And instead of doing what they should be, they end up using their position for something completely different. I really don’t care who you are or what you claim to be, but please “BE” what you’re claiming.

If you’re going to be the mayor of your community, be the best stinking mayor that you can be. Stand up and fight for your constituents. Be an example of what a true leader can be. Don’t wear that title as a crown of popularity and ignore the little people. Don’t pretend to be a mayor … be the leader you were elected to be.

If you’re going to call yourself a breastfeeding advocate, by all means, pull out all the stops and do your community proud. But don’t spend time tearing non-breastfeeders down. Be an example and let them see the beauty of it, and not just a militant ‘knows I’m right” person.

If you’re a teacher, recognize your role in the lives of the children you’ve been given to teach. Remember that they are watching you and waiting for your guidance. The words you use, and the actions you portray will leave lasting marks on their lives. Help them to fall in love with learning, and ensure they leave you in a better place than when they arrived at the beginning of the school year.

If you’re a Mom, just be a Mom. You don’t need to be perfect, you just need to love your babies and be the best you that you can be. Don’t pretend to have it all together when inside you’re falling apart. Be real and honest about what’s going on in your world. The sooner you can do that, the sooner you’ll find real help and support and feel “normal”.

I’m sure that my words right now may be coming across as judgy or harsh, and that so isn’t my intention. I’m not coming from a place of judgement but from a place of wanting people to just be true to themselves. We spend so much time pretending to be something we aren’t just to impress others. In doing that, we devalue ourselves and all that we have to offer.

Why choose to be a second rate version of someone else, when you could be the best YOU that you could be?

This post is part of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge. If you want to follow along with all of us “challengers”, click on their links below. Please go and give them a read … writing every day for 30 days is TOUGH to do.